theme 5: fall of the USSR 1985-91

Question 1

when did Gorbachev become general secretary

Answer 1

1985

Question 2

Twenty-Seventh party congress

Answer 2

February 1986

Gorbachev attacks Brezhnev era as years of stagnation

Question 3

when was the Chernobyl nuclear incident

Answer 3

April 1986

Question 4

twelfth five year plan launched

Answer 4

1986

Question 5

when were the laws on state enterprises enacted

Answer 5

1987

Question 6

Plenum of the Central Committee

Answer 6

October 1987

Yeltsin attacks Gorbachev’s reforms

Question 7

when was Yeltsin dismissed as first secretary in Moscow

Answer 7

November 1987

Question 8

when was the legislation of co-operatives

Answer 8

January 1988

Question 9

When was Yeltsin removed from the Politburo

Answer 9

February 1988

Question 10

when was the nineteenth party congress?

Answer 10

June 1988

Principle of multi-candidate elections agreed

Question 11

when were popular fronts formed in the Baltic republics

Answer 11

October 1988

Question 12

When did Armenia announce its control over Nagorno-Karabakh

Answer 12

November 1988

Question 13

when was the election to Congress of People’s deputies

Answer 13

March 1989

Question 14

When were there demonstrations in Tbilsi, Georgia

Answer 14

April 1989

Question 15

when was Gorbachev elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet

Answer 15

May 1989

Question 16

when was the 500 days Programme put in place?

Answer 16

October 1989

Called for rapid transition to a market economy

Question 17

when was the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Answer 17

November 1989

Question 18

When was article 6 repealed

Answer 18

March 1990

opened the way for new political parties to be established

Question 19

When did Lithuania declare independence from the USSR

Answer 19

March 1990

Question 20

When did Yeltsin reign from the communist party?

Answer 20

July 1990

Question 21

when did Georgia declare independence

Answer 21

April 1991

Question 22

when did Yeltsin become president of Russia

Answer 22

June 1991

Question 23

when was the coup by the gang of 8

Answer 23

August 1991

Question 24

when did the Soviet Union recognize the Baltic states as independent

Answer 24

August 1991

Question 25

when did Yeltsin reject Gorbachev’s new Union Treaty

Answer 25

November 1991

Question 26

when was the USSR dissolved

Answer 26

December 1991

Question 27

The Novosibirsk Report of 1983

aka “for internal use only”

Answer 27

by economic sociologist Tatyana Zaslavskaya
Drew attention to growing crisis in agrivulture caused by state inefficiency and inflexibility
Most Politburo members ignored it, except Gorbachev who was aware that reform was needed

Question 28

Gorbachev removes opposition

Answer 28

1985: removes Grigory Romanov (leading rival), replaces with Ligachev and Ryzhkov
1986: Yeltsin and Yakelov promoted to central comittee

Question 29

alcohol spending in 1980s (stat)

Answer 29

alcohol accounted for 15% of a household’s spending

Question 30

Gorbachev quote on excessive alcohol use

Answer 30

April 1985 “we can’t build communism on vodka”

many turned up to work drunk

Question 31

methods & goals of the 12th five year plan (1986-90)

Answer 31

methods: increased investment, controlled by central planning
goals: accelerate growth of economy, especially focusing on science and research (mainly engineering)

Question 32

weaknesses of the 12th five year plan

Answer 32

• investment geared towards construction projects which often lead to over spending
• Soviet industry used out of date tools and machinery –> unproductive
• soviet industry was slow to use new technology and used most foreign exchange to import food
• agricultural sector needed vast sums of investment
• focus remained on quantity over quality

Question 33

why didn’t Gorbachev’s policy of acceleration actually help the economy?

Answer 33

Didn’t address the fundamental problems that caused issues

Opposition to change from within the state and economic planning apparatus meant real change was hard to make